Editors

The Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Today

For just about every major world event, there’s a conspiracy theory to dispute the official account. The 9/11 “Truthers” claim the U.S. government was involved on the 2001 attacks on American soil. Numerous theories posit alternative accounts of the John F. Kennedy assassination. More than 60 years later, many people dispute the government’s account of what happened in Roswell, New Mexico. The internet is a treasure trove of theories, ranging from the plausible to the absurd. Are these theories just hoaxes spread by some crazy people or is there some iota of truth behind these ridiculous allegations?

Here are five of the top conspiracy theories in the modern world.

5. Subliminal Advertising is Making Us Do Stuff

Until 1974, subliminal advertising – embedding seemingly imperceptive messages into movies and television – was legal in the United States. Market researcher James Vicary pioneered the idea by adding split-second images into a moving showing. His research (which was later found to be fabricated) indicated that these messages, which told viewers to buy soda and popcorn, significantly increased concession sales. Some advertisers began including these messages in their commercials. Although subliminal advertising is now banned, many people claim that these imperceptible messages in television and music continue to dictate our actions.

4. Alien Reptiles Overlords

A former friend of Princess Diana once claimed that the royal family was actually member of an alien reptilian race. The idea wasn’t a new one – for years, conspiracy theorists have claimed that shape-shifting alien reptiles live among us, or possibly even control us. One BBC reporter who pursued the theory and collected evidence as supposed proof now speaks at sold-out shows about his discovery. He claims that the world is controlled by these alien reptile overlords.

3. The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle, located in the area between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, is infamous for the mysterious disappearance of planes and boats that pass through. It’s true that a number of vessels have gone missing in the area, and some theorists claim the disappearances are due to some sort of supernatural element, such as aliens or magnetic anomalies. Another theory is that Atlantis, the mythical city of Gods, is located under the Bermuda triangle and that’s where the missing ships and planes end up.

2. The Moon Landing was a Hoax

Perhaps the most famous conspiracy of modern times is that the 1969 moon landing was actually filmed on a Hollywood sound stage. The evidence? The technology at the time was not up to par, the shadows on the film were inconsistent, and there are no stars in the footage. Theorists claim the United States staged the elaborate hoax in order to gain political and financial benefits. Although a 2008 episode of the U.S. television show Mythbusters disproved the conspiracy theory, many continue to claim the landing was a hoax.

1. The Illuminati

While some people think extraterrestrial transforming lizards rule the world, others believe a secret organization called the Illuminati is in charge. The Illuminati, popularized by Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons novel, was a secret society that was supposedly disbanded in 1785. But some theorists argue that the Illuminati organization is alive and well and that it includes among its members various world leaders and Hollywood celebrities. The Illuminati, theorists claim, mastermind world events and manipulate business and political decisions to establish a totalitarian world government.

So are these theories completely idiotic and just a creation of someone’s imagination or are we led to believe that these conspiracies are rubbish so that we don’t question the truth? After all it is said that the truth is stranger than fiction. Think about it.

One of the greatest historical conspiracies–President Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally’s wife Nellie, in a presidential motorcade.